treaty of versailles

when did the treaty of versailles end wwi?

june 28, 1919

where was the treaty of versailles signed?

paris peace conference in paris

what were the fourteen points? (overview)

written by then US-president woodrow wilson, defense to prove to the american people that joining the war was justified

what was the war guilt clause?

clause of the treaty that forced germany to take full, unequivocal blame for wwi and have to take all punishments

how did germans react to the war guilt clause?

they fucking hated it, their chancellor resigned, and they sunk all their ships instead of giving them to britain. the weimar republic representatives signed it under the threat of another war, which germany couldnt afford

which countries were idealist vs realist?

usa - idealist (give germ some grace, establish democracy everywhere in the world)

gb - in between mash (make them pay but not all that much so we can still trade)

france - realist (burn germ to the ground and give us the ashes)

what organization was established thanks to the treaty of versailles?

league of nations

what were the problems with the self-determination clauses of the treaty of versailles?

they tried to create homelands for ethnic groups that existed (i wonder where ive heard that before)

left ethnic people in different areas that werent “designated” for them (ex. alsace lorraine given to france despite 50-50 split of french and germs)

what were the territorial demands of the treaty of versailles?

all overseas territories of germ given to fr, gb, or usa as mandates

germ was not allowed to unite w austria (we all know how well that works!)

alsace lorraine returned to france, east of germ given to poland

what were the military demands of the treaty of versailles?

military was restricted to 100,000 men

germ was not allowed an air force and all but 6 ship fleets were to be given to gb

demilitarization of rhineland

what were the economic demands of the treaty of versailles?

were not allowed to join league of nations

had to take full and sole responsibility for wwi

had to pay 132B gold marks in reparations despite being broke from war efforts

land that had been taken by the allies had significant natural resources that made up germ’s econ

why was the treaty of versailles controversial in germany?

bankrupted them, no representative of germany was present in the drafting, insulted their national pride, bad terms and the citizens were mad that the government would even sign it